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ONE DAY AT MICHAELSHOF!
Let us take you on a journey…
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In the morning we are woken up by the warm sun rising from behind the stables. For breakfast we have buns from the bakery with homemade jam, cheese or sausage. From 6 o’clock in the stables and from 8 o’clock in all other corners of the village, the working day starts. For us, that means time for a morning walk. Accompanied by the singing of the birds, we walk through the rose garden towards the arena. Already on the hill we see the many radiant crocuses in yellow, purple, white and blue. Every year, in the still cold spring sun, they seem almost strange in the still-barren gardens. But our joy is great, because now the gardening year starts and soon the first tulips will join their early bloomer friends. We follow the winding paths of the arena and meet all kinds of insects, a cat or two and many green buds. At the large boulders near the wooden figures representing the seven Liberal Arts, a large field of sunny yellow winter flowers greets us. We sit down on the bench next to the pond and enjoy the clear, fresh air for some time.
Now our tour through the village begins with Claudia, who tells us about the history from thirty-eight years of community, while she shows us the forest lake, the oak yard and many other central places.
After this exciting input, we’re off to lunch…
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The Café am Michaelshof provides us with organic delicacies as our hearts desire. Especially under the sun umbrellas it’s good to relax even in the hot summer.
After a short break we go for a bike ride along the Elbe cycle path and in the afternoon we spend a lot of time at the Ark Farm with its fluffy animals, especially the new-born lambs. Upon request, we are even allowed to help the stable service with mucking out and feeding – an experience!
We make ourselves dinner from the Michaelshof products from the farm store in the large guesthouse kitchen. An eventful day comes to an end and tomorrow it’s off to the next adventure!
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Volunteer anniversary
7 years of international volunteering at Michaelshof
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In February 7 years ago we welcomed our very first volunteer, Martino from Switzerland. Before that it was rather quiet here, but since then a lot has changed, and perhaps you could call Michaelshof a small Global Village in the middle of the Wendland now. Every day, a lot of hard work is done here – whether in vegetable cultivation, gardening, building houses, with the animals or with the children, cooking lunch or even washing the dishes. Above all, there are many beautiful, heart-warming, funny, surprising and simply great moments in the Michaelshof community every single day! There are countless lifelong friendships that have been formed here around the globe since 2016!
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We want to say thank you today to everyone who is part of our community and our shared stories! And we also want to invite those who are yet to come:
Are you or someone in your circle of acquaintances ready for some time off of a special kind? There’s a lot to learn here, both in dealing with nature and with people! How about volunteering during the semester break? Just being outside with the animals, in the garden, on the construction site, in the dairy and many other areas! Agricultural internships, social internships and internships in special areas for students between 14 and 18 years are also possible, as is a preliminary internship in our children’s and youth home Peronnik or on our construction site. All this can be wonderfully combined at Michaelshof with an unforgettable time in Michaelshof-Community. Just apply at michaelshof-sammatz.de
Happy Volunteering and lots of greetings! Here’s to another exciting 7 years!
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News & facts from the ecology-team
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With the discovery of ‘Halictus leucaheneus’, the sand golden furrow bee, we have been able to detect 110 wild bee species on the land of Michaelshof. A reason to celebrate! Not only is this a gratifyingly high number of species, but Halictus leucaheneus is also a very rare find for the region. If one consults the “Checklist of Wild Bees of Germany”, as of September 2018 (1), the 7-8 mm bee has been considered extinct in Lower Saxony. However, there is a lot going on with wild bees right now; in recent years, several species have spread northwards or emerged in areas where they were thought to have disappeared – now also in our region!
In any case, our task from this is clear: to search for nests and plant the bees’ preferred pollen sources near them. The ‘Halicuts leucaheneus’ is what’s known as ‘polylectic’: it collects pollen from several different plant families, but in the ‘tidy’ landscape of Lower Saxony even these plants are rare. So, let’s not underestimate the impact our gardens have on the surrounding wildlife. With the right plants in the right places, we can make a big difference!
(1) Taxonomy Commission of the Wild Bee Cadastre Working Group (TK-AKWK) in the Stuttgart Entomological Society
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Michaelshof up-to-date – all opening hours at a glance!
Ark yard:
Mon-Sun 09.00 – 19.00
Café:
Sat 08.00 – 18.00
Sun 09.30 – 18.00
Farm store:
Mon-Fri 09.30 – 12.00
15.00 – 19.00
Sat, Sun & holidays 10.00 – 19.00
Foodtruck in Lüneburg:
Wed & Sat 07.00 – 13.00
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The Café am Michaelshof is making great strides towards longer opening hours! From 13 March we’ll also be offering coffee, ice cream and cake in the afternoon during the week. And this is exactly how it looks:
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FROM MARCH 13:
Mon-Fri 14.00 – 18.00
Sat 8.00 – 18.00
Sun 9.30 – 18.00
FROM APRIL 03:
Mon-Fri 8.00 – 12.00
14.00 – 18.00
Sat 8.00 – 18.00
Sun 9.30 – 18.00
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Watch out: Now it’s getting sweet!
Guys, it’s that time again, it’s lambing season! We all love to watch the cute little rascals. In a conversation with Malte B. we have collected some fascinating information about the lambing season.
A: Malte, how long does a sheep actually carry and why do the little ones all tumble out at the same time?
M: The exciting thing about the milk sheep is that they only record between August and December, so they are only seasonally pregnant. In autumn we let the rams join the flock so all the lambs are born at the same time. Our ewes carry for about 145 days and then usually have 2 little lambs – with young ewes it is sometimes only one, in exceptions sometimes three.
A: How does such a birth proceed?
M: Actually, the sheep often manage it on their own. However, if we notice that a sheep is having its lambs, we are happy to be there, make sure that they are lying correctly and, in an emergency, turn their heads around so that they can get out easily. This year the births are going really well!
Then the mothers with their lambs first come into an extra box, so that they get used to each other. Later, when the lambs are bigger, they go into the big compartment where all the older lambs and mothers are together.
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A: And how are the lambs fed?
M: We have introduced mother-assisted rearing for this year. This means that until the lambs are big enough, they get all their milk from their mothers. We in the barn team make sure that the little bellies are always well filled and help them with the bottle if necessary.
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We also check the sheep and see if they still need to be milked because they may be producing a lot of milk. Slowly the lambs become curious and sniff the hay. So far, however, they spend most of their day playing, drinking and sleeping.
A: What fascinates you about the lambing season?
M: You know, they have naturally chosen the coldest time of year to give birth. It always amazes me how warm their short fur and lots of breast milk keeps them. They don’t actually freeze.
A: Exciting! Thanks for the interview and have a great lambing season!
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…Jakob? Born in Ulm, Jakob lived near Lüneburg for most of his life until 2010, when he had the impulse to join Michaelshof with his school friends Klara, Antonia and Sophia. This was the beginning of an exciting time in his life! First Jakob was in the children and youth home Peronnik, before shortly after the ‘gardener crew’ began their work in the stables and gardens. Then they built what they could, dug and planted.
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The task was to bring agriculture to life together and with Anton, Daniel, Malte B., Emmanuel, Janosch and Jakob as farmers, the early days of the Ark Farm began. A little later Jakob and some others converted the small garage into the bakery at Michaelshof and baked the first breads in the wood-fired oven. Until now, Jakob has always remained the head baker, keeping a loving eye on the bakery and sharing his long-developed recipes with the many volunteers from all over the world. He patiently teaches them over and over again how to prepare one of our most important staple foods. Since 2022, he has been working on a recipe for honey-salt bread (without sourdough or yeast), which is now available in the farm store at Michaelshof and in Lüneburg at the market cart and is wonderfully digestible – be sure to try it!
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Jakob is an all-rounder – farming, animals, bakery, café, dairy, Peronnik, school class supervisor and much more. Always there, everywhere! At the moment, however, he is mainly responsible for the food-topic: both as a baker and as a food village manager, he and Emmanuel take care of all production & service areas from dairy to bakery to farm store. There, everything revolves around quality, taste, efficient processes and the love of food.
The best thing about Jakob: his hearty laugh, which really doesn’t stop once he starts. Thanks for the bread, the many fun moments, and all the food projects the future holds!
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Exerpts from the Brown Book
Volunteer-Impressions
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The Brown Book not only carries many beautiful words, but also sometimes real works of art. See for yourself:
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A wonderfully colorful Flachsenberg from Anna, who enjoyed the summer on the construction site very much and gave us many nice moments with her viola music.
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A great entry from Johanna from Germany, who did a 2-week internship together with her brother at the beginning of the year and loved the work & the social part of Michaelshof from the first moment.
And last but not least the entry of Geovanny from El Salvador, who leaves nothing to chance when it comes to the brown book and brought his own pictures:
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+++ NEWSTICKER +++
Impressions from the everyday life in our community…
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February, like January, was also a month of outdoor preparation. We sanded and polished the wooden figures as much as possible, repaired paths, renovated, worked on the event program and much more.
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Spring has shown itself from its best side in the gardens!
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Part of our Stable team & Lea from the kitchen team is moving on to new adventures. THANK YOU for everything Birgit, Lea & Anne! See you soon!
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Cleaning up to be done everywhere!
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Also at the school the carnival could not be missed. Spiderman had a lot in his luggage on his way to Paris!
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For our team we are looking for committed and dynamic people who like to take on responsibility and have a zest for country life. Is a meaningful activity more important to you than a “9 to 5 job”? Then you’ve come to the right place!
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We’re looking for professionals or interns in these fields:
Office:
Hands-on:
- Agriculture
- Horticulture / Gardening
- Construction worker
- Janitor
Production
- Market cart salesman
- Farm store
- Bakery
- Confectionery
People & Healing
Your qualification is not here, but you are still interested? Just give it a try!
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Our story reader Genia is really busy right now.
The little ones are already curious about what the world has to offer, and they let us tell them…
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